Hey guys. I'm working on a bike now as my only commuter and want to one day use it for light touring. Right now it's fixed, but I was thinking of perhaps building up another wheelset with something like a 7-or 8-speed internal gear and a dynamo hub. As much as I want a Shimano Nexus Red Band, it's simply too expensive for me, even used. I'm under a pretty tight budget at the moment.

For my application, should I get at least 7-speed or will something like the much cheaper SRAM P5 do? It has a decent range, but the gaps are pretty wide. I was also looking at the nicely priced Sturmey-Archer XRF8 but it does have a weird range - it might not be so bad with a 36/25 ratio but I would pretty much never be able to run it in direct drive. The Sprinter 7 looks better for my needs but I can't find it anywhere, which leads me to believe it was discontinued.

As for dynamo hubs, I guess the Sturmey-Archer X-FDD looks good because it's cheap, but I don't plan to run a drum brake, so can this feature be removed or at least ignored? Also, when it comes to blowing bulbs it's the light that matters, right? Not the generator?

Are new Sturmey-Archer products in general not very durable or reliable or easy to work with or smooth? If so, maybe I'll just shell out for a Shimano or SRAM 7-speed and a DH-3N70 hub.

Sorry, lotsa questions, but better than asking in several different topics, right?

I've been looking at the Sturmey-Archer FDD Dyno/Drum hub too... and I have a sneaky suspicion that they may use more Shimano parts than we know of.

I see that Sturmey uses the same electrical connectors as the Shimano DH-3N71 and -3N80 hubs... I really wonder about whether they share the same bearings too. If so, that makes the Sturmey FDD hub a great deal...

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/471351-salsa-casseroll-rohloff-build.html

I have a Shimano Nexus 7. It works. I like it.

I haven't ever test ridden a SRAM P5 hub. If it's anything like the SRAM 7, it'll be really nice. I actually liked the SRAM better, but the bike it was attached to wasn't as good a match for my purposes. SRAM makes a 3 speed hub that is supposed to be pretty good.

If you are really and truly broke, a Sturmey Archer 3 speed might be a better choice since new it's pretty cheap, and used it can be mindbogglingly cheap. Depends on how strong you are, and how much of a load you ordinarily carry. For 90% of my riding, a Sturmey Archer 3 speed would do fine. Then I have two routes that come up at least once a month where I'm just not strong enough to manage on a 3 speed. On both routes, odds are good that I'll have a heavy load, and there are hills that I have trouble with.

I've tested a bike with the Shimano 3 speed, and I didn't like it as well as the Sturmey Archer. A lot of that was probably the bike... it didn't fit well at all.

If you can't or don't want to afford a third wheel set ever, it probably is a bad idea to go with a 3 speed. They're bloody useful and cheap, but if you're being frugal, you don't want to waste money buying things that are very similar.

I would forget about the dynamo generator for now and focus on the hub you like. I bought a Nexus8 redband internal hub from jensonusa.com for about $190. I laced it to a velocity dyad rim ($42) with 2mm straight spokes ($12). This wheel set should last me for many, many years so I can't see how skimping on a few dollars and putting on a rear hub that has far fewer gears than needed would be a good thing.

I tried the dynamo hub for a few months, but it just does not put out enough light for my preference. I like cars to see me better than what the 3 watt generator light can do. I run a 10 watt (sometimes 20 watt) home made halogen MR16 (battery powered) that gives me close to 500 lumens, 4 or 5 times more light than a generator light.

The new LED dynamo driven lights (IQ fly, supernova etc) are much much brighter than the old 3w halogens and are a very good solution. 500lm is easily achievable with a DIY dynamo setup.